114 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
above all other creatures are they gifted with voice both 
in respect to quantity and quality. The little quavering 
sparrow (Spizella pusilla) can be heard half a mile away; 
the simple strain of the veery (Turdus fuscesens), though 
of such exquisite sweetness, reaches the ear twice this 
distance, while the Campenero is said to send its clear 
bell-like voice to the distance of five or six miles. Few 
sounds of the feathered tribe are harsh or discordant: 
nearly all of their utterances are pleasing; many of 
their songs are pure melody; certainly nothing can sur- 
pass in clear liquid sweetness the notes of some of the 
song birds. The highest praise awarded to Jenny Lind, 
the finest singer ever known, was that “she could 
warble like a bird.” Byron, with his critical apprecia- 
tion of all harmonies, gives as the superlative of sweet 
sounds, “The hum of bees, the voice of girls, the song 
of birds.” 
Some of the physical senses are strong and active in 
the feathered tribe, and especially the zsthetic element 
in the sense of seeing and hearing. 
Birds have a very keen perception of color, and some 
species appear to receive as pure pleasure from its grati- 
fication as man himself, Undoubtedly we are as much 
indebted to the indulgence of this taste in birds, for the. 
high color of some of our fruits, as we are to the bees 
and other insects for the bright colors of most of our 
entomophalous flowers. In choosing their mates those 
of the most brilliant plumage are first selected. The 
most highly colored fruits and berries are first taken, 
though other specimens may be equally mellow, sweet 
